States told to wind up Sampoorna job scheme from Apr 1

With the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (NREGP) set to be extended to all districts from April 2008, the Ministry of Rural Development has sent letters to state governments asking them to wind up all projects under the Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) before the end of this month.

The letter, sent last week, says the SGRY stands discontinued from April 1 on starting of the NREGP and these districts will not get any allocation under the SGRY from next financial year.

The ministry also gave strict instructions that all works had to be completed by the close of the present financial year on March 31, 2008, as after that there would be a budget head only for the NREGP. The unspent amount under the SGRY would be transferred to the latter's account, it said.

Unlike in the first and second phases where the ministry allowed an extension for the completion of the SGRY projects, state officials have been told that there will be no extension beyond March 31.

"Closure means the measurement is complete on an as-is-where-is basis on the cut-off date. On this basis, payments are to be made and works treated as closed," said an official.

Any expenditure incurred from the SGRY fund after March 31 shall be on the state account, the letter has warned. Incomplete works permissible under the NREGP can be taken up as new projects.

Works are to be approved by gram sabhas and panchayati raj institutions and each district has to certify that all such incomplete works permissible under the NREGP have been properly accounted for.

For works not permissible under the NREGP, states may fund this from other available resources of states and central government programmes, officials say.